Life With the Jacksons
by rmonroe
Summary: One-shots featuring everyone's favorite archeologist, his wife Vala, and their two kids Ethan and Sophie. Will likely include a bit of S/J and Cam/OC.
1. Distractions

By popular request, some D/V family stuff. :)

A little background on this one: Ethan is Daniel's son from a previous . . . encounter on another planet (more about that in an upcoming fic). He's almost three when Daniel and Vala get married and go on their honeymoon. Hence, this scene.

* * *

Daniel breathed in deeply, eyes closed, relishing the scent of Vala's hair. His arms tightened around her and he kissed her neck. She smiled, her eyes still closed and rolled over to face him with a soft sigh.

"Good morning," he said softly, kissing her forehead.

Her smile grew and she opened her eyes. "Yes, darling, it certainly is."

He grinned back at her and kissed her lips gently. Her hands came up into his hair and she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Before they could get any farther however, Daniel's phone rang. They ignored it at first, but as soon as Daniel's stopped ringing, Vala's started. Daniel pulled back reluctantly.

"Better get that," he said his face still close to hers.

She nodded. "It might be about Ethan."

By that time, Vala's phone had stopped and Daniel's was ringing again. He rolled over to grab it from the nightstand.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dannyboy," Jack's overly cheerful voice said. "Am I interrupting anything?"

Daniel sighed. "Of course you're interrupting something, Jack."

Jack chuckled. "Don't worry, I have a good reason. I've got a little boy here who misses his dad."

Daniel couldn't help smiling. "Let me talk to him."

He heard a rustling noise as Jack transferred the phone, and then his little boy's voice greeted him.

"Daddy?"

"Hey, buddy. Are you having fun at Jack and Sam's house?"

"Uh-huh. Coming home today, Daddy?"

"It'll still be a few days, buddy."

"Next day?"

Daniel smiled at Ethan's version of "tomorrow." "No, nine more days. Remember the chain?"

Before he and Vala had left, they had made a paper chain with Ethan to help the two-year-old understand how long his daddy was going to be gone.

"Red one," the little boy said after a moment.

"Is it red paper today? Go ask Uncle Jack if you can take it off yet."

"I want Daddy," the little boy replied.

Distraction time. "Hey, guess what? I bet if you ask nicely, Sam and Jack will take you to the park today."

There was silence on the other end for a moment as the two-year-old considered that. "Cam and T, too?"

"Yeah, Cam and Teal'c could probably go too."

"Vala too?"

"No, remember? Vala's here with Daddy."

Silence again. "I talk to her?"

"You want to talk to Vala?"

"Uh-huh."

Vala snatched the phone out of Daniel's hand. "Hi, Ethan!" she said brightly.

"You with Daddy?"

"Yep, I'm here with Daddy."

"Vala come home?"

"When the chain's all gone we'll come home, baby," she replied, smiling at Daniel. "Are you going to the park today?"

"Uh-huh. Jack and Sam and Cam and T."

"Tell them to get you ice cream, okay?"

"Ice cream!"

Vala chuckled. "Yep, ice cream is yummy, huh."

"I talk to Daddy?"

"Okay, sweetheart, here's Daddy. I love you."

"Wuv you."

Vala passed the phone back to Daniel.

"Hey, buddy."

"Daddy, you want ice cream?"

"We'll get ice cream when we come home, okay? When the chain's all gone."

"'Kay, Daddy." He was quiet for another moment. "Fwuit Loops?"

Daniel wasn't sure if the little boy was addressing him or Sam or Jack. "Are you going to eat Fruit Loops for breakfast?" he tried.

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, buddy. I'll talk to you later. Be good for Sam and Jack, okay?"

"'Kay."

"I love you, Ethan."

"Wuv you, Daddy."

He heard more rustling and Sam came on the phone. "Hey, Daniel."

"Hey, Sam. How'd he sleep last night?"

"It took him a little while to go to sleep, but he stayed out for the whole night."

"Good, he's been waking up in the middle of the night and I was worried he'd get scared if he didn't recognize your guest room. And I thought he might be getting a cold when we left yesterday, so keep an eye on him."

He heard Sam trying to smother a giggle. "He's fine, Daniel."

"I know, I just . . ." Vala's finger was tracing a pattern on his chest and he had to swallow hard before speaking again. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go, but call me if you need anything."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later. Say hi to Vala for me."

"Thanks again, Sam."

"No problem," she said, and he could hear the amusement in her voice.

Daniel hung up the phone and turned back to Vala. "We have at least until Ethan finishes his Fruit Loops," he said with a grin.

Vala grinned back at him and looped her arms around his neck. "I miss him already."

"Me too." He kissed her. "I think we'll all survive, though."

"Plenty of distractions," she agreed, kissing him back.


	2. Being a Dad

Daniel looked up from where his work was spread across the table as the door banged open. His son, Ethan, ran past him, shedding his backpack on the kitchen floor and racing upstairs to his room, an unhappy frown on his face. Before Daniel could follow him to ask what was wrong, Vala came into the kitchen, holding five-year-old Sophie's hand and looking stormy.

"Daniel, do you _have_ to spread that out all over the table?" she said, stooping to pick up Ethan's backpack.

Daniel looked down. "Uh . . ."

"You have a desk!"

"Sorry?" Daniel said, knowing it was just going to be one of those days.

Vala shook her head, sighed heavily and went into the living room to hang up Ethan's backpack.

Sophie ran over to Daniel and climbed up into his lap. "Watcha doing, Daddy?" she asked, looping her arms around his neck.

He smiled and kissed her cheek. "At least _someone _loves me," he said, illiciting a giggle. "I'm just working on some translations, sweetheart," he said, answering her question.

"Can I help?"

"I don't know, how well do you know Ancient?" he teased.

"Daddy," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "I'm only in Kindergarten!"

Daniel feigned shock. "What? They don't teach you Ancient in Kindergarten?"

Sophie giggled. "Nope. We're still working on Goa'uld," she said, her blue eyes glinting mischievously.

Daniel laughed. "Goa'uld, huh? Well, how about you help me by telling me what's up with Mom and Ethan today." Sophie was his frequent source for information on the other two family members as she was always more willing to tell him what was wrong than they were.

"Well," she said seriously, settling down on his knee. "Ethan was upset because Payton and Jarret and Carli were making fun of his glasses, so when he got in the car he was all cranky and told Mommy he wasn't going to wear them anymore, and then Mommy got mad and told him he _had_ to wear the glasses 'cause he can't see without them and she paid lots of money for them, and Ethan said he wasn't going to, and he took them off and threw them on the floor of the car, and Mommy got _really_ mad, and told him he couldn't play with Dallas and Andrew anymore 'cause they're being a bad influenza on him," she explained, not even pausing to breathe.

Daniel raised an eyebrow, a grin spreading across his face. "I think you mean "influence," sweetheart."

She nodded. "That's what I said, silly!"

Daniel chuckled and kissed her hair. "I guess I should go talk to your brother, huh?"

"Yep. Mommy said he should talk to you 'cause you have glasses too and people probably make fun of you too," she agreed solemnly.

Daniel laughed again. "Thanks, baby. Go help Mommy clean up the living room a little bit so she's in a better mood, okay?"

"'Kay," she said, hopping down. "I'll help you later with your translerations, Daddy."

"Okay," Daniel said, shaking his head and smiling as she scampered off into the living room. With a sigh, he got up from the table, trying to stack his papers neatly. He soon deemed that task impossible and with another sigh, went to talk to his son.

He listened at Ethan's door for a moment, trying to assess what kind of mood the nine-year-old was in before knocking softly and pushing the door open.

Ethan was sitting on his bed, knees drawn up to his chest, and glaring at his pair of glasses he'd thrown on the floor. He didn't even look up when Daniel came in.

"Hey, kiddo," he said, coming over to sit next to Ethan on the bed.

"I don't wanna talk about it, Dad," the boy grumbled, scooting away.

"Well, how about I talk about it?"

Ethan slid his eyes to the side to look at Daniel. "Nope."

"Okay, maybe you want to talk about why you were rude to Mom today."

Ethan lifted his head. "Sophie's such a tattle-tale."

"We're not talking about Sophie. We're talking about why you were rude to Mom about your glasses," Daniel said, adding a hard edge to his voice.

"Dad, it's not a big deal."

"Yes, Ethan, it obviously _is _a big deal," Daniel said, reaching out and laying a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"I'm not _mad_, I just want to help you, kiddo."

Ethan sighed. "I don't really need those dumb glasses anyway."

"Ethan, your teacher told me you can't even see the whiteboard if you sit in the front row. Believe me, you need the glasses."

"I don't _need_ to see what's on the whiteboard. I already know most of it anyway," he said, picking at his blanket.

Daniel didn't quite know what to say to that. Ethan had already been moved up a grade, and could probably be moved up further, but Daniel and Vala had both been determined that their kids have as normal a childhood as possible, despite their high intelligence and the fact that their mother was an alien. "Are you really that bored, buddy?"

"Yeah, but if I went to sixth grade, they'd make fun of me more."

Daniel sighed and scooted closer so he could drape an arm around his son's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Ethan. I know it's hard."

"I try and ignore them like you said, but . . ." Ethan shrugged, still staring at his bedspread intently.

"It still hurts, doesn't it," Daniel said, giving his shoulders a little squeeze.

Ethan nodded and Daniel could see the tears gathering in his eyes. "I _hate_ being smart."

Daniel wasn't sure what to say to that. He did remember how that felt, however. "I used to feel the same way, you know."

Ethan looked directly into his face for the first time, and Daniel could see the curiosity in his eyes. "What'd you do?"

"Well, I pretty much just felt awful about it until college." Ethan's face fell. "But," Daniel added quickly. "You don't need to wait that long, because I'm going to tell you the secret."

Ethan looked doubtful. "There's a secret?"

"Yep. You ready?"

Ethan looked at him with his you're-just-making-me-annoyed-at-this-point face. Daniel grinned and leaned in closer. "It's really easy. All you have to do is think of something everyday that you're proud of yourself for."

Ethan wrinkled his nose. "That's what you did? It works?"

"That's what I did, but I didn't figure it out until a friend of mine helped me out." Ethan still looked skeptical. "Here, we'll get started with three, and then everyday from now on, you have to think of one and write it down. Go grab a notebook and pencil."

Ethan slid off the bed and grabbed a notebook and pencil from his desk. "I can't think of any," he said, sitting down next to Daniel again.

"I'll help you with the first one. I bet you're proud of yourself for getting second place in the chess tournament last week."

Ethan smiled. "That was pretty cool when I beat that eighth grader."

"No kidding. Remember the look on his face?"

He giggled. "Yep, he was pretty mad."

"See? Write it down though, or it won't work."

Ethan hastily scribbled it down. "What else?"

Daniel thought for a minute. "How about when Sophie fell off her bike and you gave her a piggy-back all the way back to the house?"

Ethan wrinkled his nose. "That counts?"

"Are you proud of doing that?"

He thought about it for a minute. "I guess so."

"Well, _I'm_ proud of you, for that," Daniel said, squeezing his son's shoulder.

Ethan shrugged and wrote it down. "Now what?"

"How about you come up with one, now," Daniel encouraged.

"Um . . ." Ethan thought for a minute, his eyebrows drawing together. "I finished all the Lord of the Rings books last week."

Daniel was surprised. "You did? All three?"

Ethan shrugged. "Four. Counting The Hobbit."

"That's awesome, Ethan," Daniel said, grinning down at him.

Ethan shrugged again, studying the three things he'd written down. "I'm gonna write some more."

Daniel gave him a one-armed hug before getting off the bed. "Write down as many as you want. I'd better go clear off the table before Mom throws my stuff away."

Ethan looked up at him with sympathy. "She probably already did. She's in a bad mood today."

Daniel smiled at him and picked up his glasses he'd left on the floor. "It would probably help if you wore your glasses."

Ethan sighed but leaned forward to take the glasses, sliding them onto his face. "Probably."

Daniel shook his head and turned to leave, pausing in the doorway. "Love you, buddy."

Not looking up from his notebook, Ethan replied, "Love you too, Dad."


	3. Sick

"Daddy, I don' feel good."

A quiet, very sad, little voice drew Daniel from his slumber, and he cracked his eyes open to find his three-year-old standing next to the bed, his lip trembling and Pot-Pot, his stuffed leopard, under one arm. He sighed and rolled onto his back, trying to rub the sleep from his face with both hands. He heard Ethan sniff, and sat up, trying not to wake Vala. He peeled the covers back, swung his feet onto the floor, and lifted his little boy to his hip. Ethan sniffed again and wrapped the arm not holding Pot-Pot around Daniel's neck, burrowing his head into Daniel's shoulder. Ethan felt much warmer than he should have, and Daniel groaned to himself. He wouldn't be surprised if the little boy had another fever. Ever since Ethan had come to Earth a year-and-a-half ago, the poor little guy seemed to get sick every other week because his immune system hadn't been exposed to common Earth bugs.

Daniel rubbed Ethan's back and walked out into the hallway, trying to make his way to the kitchen without stepping on any of the scattered toys that were ever-present on the floor. He stepped from the carpet to the kitchen tile, wincing at how cold it was on his bare feet, and felt around for the light switch. The sudden light hit his eyes and he slammed his eyelids shut for a moment, trying to adjust to the brightness. He squinted and moved to the far cupboard where they kept Ethan's medicine.

He opened the cupboard and squinted at the many little bottles of medicine, wishing he'd thought to put his glasses on. He placed a gentle hand on Ethan's forehead, trying to determine the extent of his fever, but he'd never been good at that. He rubbed his eyes and looked into the cupboard again, managing to locate the thermometer, and pulled a kitchen chair out from the table and sat down.

"Okay buddy, let me take your temperature, okay?" Daniel tugged at the small arm wrapped around his neck, trying to get the little boy to let go.

Ethan sighed and relinquished his hold, leaning away from Daniel and opening his mouth. Daniel stuck the thermometer under Ethan's tongue, a little depressed that the three-year-old knew the drill so well from being sick so often. Thermometer firmly entrenched in his little boy's mouth, Daniel put a hand on the back of Ethan's head and drew it back to his shoulder, trying to give him as much comfort as possible.

"How's your ears, Ethan? Do they hurt at all?" he asked, tilting his head to try and see Ethan's face. Earaches were just as common as fevers.

Ethan nodded, rubbing his cheek against Daniel's t-shirt. Daniel sighed and kissed the top of Ethan's head. "I'm sorry, buddy. Which one?"

Ethan lifted his head and pointed to his left ear, looking at Daniel with his huge, slightly watery, blue eyes. Daniel cupped his hand to the side of Ethan's head and gently rubbed the tiny ear with his thumb. "Better?"

Ethan nodded and leaned his head back on Daniel's shoulder. They sat like that until the thermometer beeped and Daniel took it out of the little boy's mouth. Yep, a little high, but not hospital worthy.

Daniel stood up and went back to the cupboard. "Let's start with the Tylenol, buddy."

"Wed one?" Ethan asked, and Daniel was dismayed to note that his nose sounded stuffed up too.

"Yep, the red one." Daniel returned the thermometer to the cupboard and pulled out the children's Tylenol.

Ethan's lip poked out and his eyes filled with tears. "Don' like dat one, Daddy."

"I know, but it makes you feel better, remember?" Daniel retrieved a tiny measuring cup from the cupboard and sat Ethan on the counter so he could bring the cup close to his face and make sure he had the right dose.

Ethan started to cry and hugged Pot-Pot close. "Don' _like_ dat one, Daddy!" he sobbed.

Daniel closed his eyes for a moment, trying to have patience, which was not easy when faced with a sick, crying, three-year-old at two AM. He set the little cup of medicine down on the opposite end of the counter so it wouldn't get knocked over, and leaned down so his face was level with his little boy's. "Ethan, I know you feel yucky but the red medicine is the one that will make your ear feel better, okay? Do you want your ear to feel better?"

Ethan nodded, still sobbing. "Huwts," he cried, rubbing at his ear.

"I know, buddy. Can you just take the medicine for me? It'll make it feel better, I promise."

Ethan nodded again and held out his arms for a hug. Daniel lifted him from the counter and hugged him tightly, waiting for the crying to subside.

Vala's voice came from behind them suddenly. "What's the matter?"

Daniel turned to see his wife making her way across the kitchen, her dark hair tousled from sleep and her eyes closed to slits against the light.

"He's sick again," Daniel told her.

She frowned and laid a hand on the little boy's back. "Again?"

"Yep. Fever, earache, stuffy nose, the works."

Vala sighed and kissed the back of Ethan's head. "Poor baby. Did you give him something?"

"I was just about to."

"I'll get it," Vala mumbled, spotting the little cup of medicine on the counter.

Daniel sat back down in the chair and turned Ethan sideways in his lap so he could lean the little boy's head back.

Ethan struggled but he was too exhausted to put up much of a fight, and they managed to get most of the medicine into his mouth. The little boy sat back up and snuggled into Daniel's shoulder, smearing red residue from his lips, and tears on Daniel's t-shirt, and probably on Pot-Pot too.

Vala slumped against the table, her hip touching Daniel's shoulder. "I hate this."

Daniel looked up sharply, surprised at the vehemence in her voice. "Hate what?"

She just looked at him for a moment. "Not all of this, Daniel. Just the part where Ethan's sick."

Daniel sighed in relief. For a moment he'd been worried she meant hated being stuck with him and Ethan. They'd been married for seven months now, but Daniel had this little obnoxious fear that she would get fed up with him and take off. "I hate it, too," he replied.

"Should we let him sleep with us again?" she asked, leaning over to stroke Ethan's hair.

He looked into her face. "You okay with that?"

She kissed him suddenly and smiled. "Of course. It seems to make him feel better."

Daniel nodded, grateful for her understanding, and tried to summon the energy to get up.

"I'll get the Tylenol and his sippy cup . . . oh – and some tissues," Vala said, pushing herself off the table and heading for the cupboard.

Daniel stood, moving slowly to be careful of Ethan's left ear, and followed her. "Thank you, Vala."

She smiled at him. "For what?"

He kissed her. "For everything."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're full of cheese."

He couldn't help a small chuckle. Vala had lived on Earth long enough that he was pretty sure she messed up the colloquialisms on purpose, but it was still funny. "You mean cheesy?"

She looked at him, her eyes twinkling. "No, I meant full of cheese."

He grinned and shook his head. "Full of cheese or not, I love you."

"Daddy?"

"What, buddy?"

"Want some cheese."

Daniel met Vala's eyes and the both burst into laughter at the same moment. It was turning out to be not as horrible a night as he had anticipated.


	4. Crazy Little Thing

"Dad, did you know that Saturn is named after the Roman god of architecture?"

Daniel glanced at his seven-year-old son in the rear view mirror. "Well, Saturn was actually the god of _agriculture, _but close."

Ethan stared out the car window, wearing his thinking frown. "Did you know that ice cream was invented in China?"

"Yeah, it was around 2000 BC, if I remember right."

Ethan's tongue poked out in concentration. "Did you know that your left lung is smaller than your right lung?"

"To make room for your heart, right?" Daniel asked.

Ethan slumped in his booster seat. "Dad," he burst out, "I wanna tell you something you _don't _know."

Daniel suppressed a smile. "Oh, I'm sorry, buddy. Tell me something else."

The little boy gave him a look. "You're not just gonna pretend you don't know, right?"

Daniel hesitated. That _had_ been his plan, as a matter of fact. "Um . . . nope."

Ethan looked unconvinced but came up with another fact anyway. "Did you know that Mom threw away your favorite sweatshirt?"

"What? The grey and blue one?" He really _hadn't_ known that.

"Yeah, she said it was grody."

"That's not a word."

Ethan shrugged. "Mom makes up words all the time."

Daniel sighed. "Well, you got me, pal. I didn't know that Mom threw my sweatshirt away."

The little boy smiled smugly and resumed staring out the window at the familiar route to home from school. After a moment of silence, in which Daniel debated whether or not to get mad about the sweatshirt, Ethan spoke up again. "Did you know that Mrs. Hevershaw said I was her smartest student today?"

Daniel grinned. Even though Ethan had already moved up a grade, he was still the smartest in the class. "I don't doubt it, Ethan. You're a very smart kid."

The seven-year-old grinned all the way back to the house. They got out of the car and went inside, Ethan calling for Vala so he could tell her what his teacher said, but they found no trace of Vala or Sophie. Then Daniel heard music. He and Ethan followed it to the back door, and Daniel put his hand on the doorknob with a little apprehension. He had been at the SGC all day and Ethan had been at school; there was no telling what the girls had got up to in that time. The door swung open.

Vala and Sophie were in the backyard dancing to Queen – in the strangest outfits. Three-year-old Sophie had on one of her princess dress-ups, but somehow, she'd gotten her bright pink swimming suit on over it. She was also wearing a pair of Vala's flip-flops, Daniel's sunglasses, and her stuffed bunny was tied to her head with one of Ethan's belts. Vala was wearing one of her shorter skirts with high heels, Daniel's long coat over a bright orange t-shirt, and Sophie's Winnie-the-Pooh blanket tied around her shoulders like a cape. She was also wearing her sunglasses and another of Sophie's stuffed animals – a cat – was tied to her head with one of Daniel's belts. The two of them were completely ensconced in the music, dancing around like maniacs, and didn't notice the boys for a good minute. Daniel and Ethan stood staring, until Sophie caught sight of them, mid-twirl.

"Daddy!" she cried, running right out of her flip-flops in her haste to get to him.

Still in a vague sense of shock, Daniel lifted her into his arms and she wrapper her arms around his neck tightly, the stuffed bunny attached to her head tickling his nose.

"Daddy, did you see me dancing?" she said, pulling back and looking into his face. "Me and Mommy are pretty!"

He grinned and kissed her cheek. "Absolutely gorgeous, sweetheart."

Vala had noticed them too, of course, and bounded up to Ethan. "Ethan, come dance!"

Daniel laughed out loud at the expression on his son's face. It was somewhere between shock and abhorrence.

"Ethan better go get started on his homework," he intervened.

The kid had never looked so happy to do his homework, and without a word, he turned and ran back into the house.

Vala turned to Daniel with a pout. "That means you have to dance with us, Daniel."

"Yeah, Daddy!" Sophie exclaimed. "We're princesses and we need a prince!" She squirmed to get down and then grabbed his hand. Daniel began to feel slightly panicky as his little girl led him out onto the lawn.

"One dance, love," Vala said, grinning and taking his other hand.

"I . . . need to go help Ethan with his homework," he tried as "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" came on.

"No you don't," Vala said, beginning to bounce around to the beat, still holding his hand. Sophie was bouncing around as well so he was being tugged in two directions, and he had no choice but to move around a little. His girls dragged him around the yard, giggling and singing, and he found himself getting into it a little. Then, suddenly he noticed Ethan in the doorway. With a video camera.

"Ethan!" he shouted, breaking free of Vala and Sophie. Ethan turned and ran, clutching the camera to his chest. "Ethan, if you show that to anyone, no books for a month!"

Ethan raced through the house and through the front door, going around the house to get back to the backyard and Vala's protection. He hid behind her, giggling, and Daniel sighed. "Seriously, buddy."

The little boy grinned. "I won't show it to anyone."

"Good. You two can't either," he said, pointing at Vala and Sophie.

The two of them wore identical expressions of innocence. "Why would we do that?" Vala asked.

Daniel sighed again. "Crazy little thing, indeed."


End file.
